========================= Bleaching Report ===========================
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*********** bleaching in Florida, USA *************
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Report from: Leanne S. Welch
Miami-Dade DERM, Miami, Florida, USA
Date: 3 October 2001
"In August, biologists at Miami-Dade County Department of
Environmental Resources Management (DERM) conducted a
"quick and dirty" county-wide survey to document bleaching
throughout Dade County. Preliminary surveys indicate bleaching
is widespread, but the percentage of bleached tissue is very
small.
"Nine stations were sampled in water depths of 35 - 60 fsw via
50m x 0.5m belt transects. We found indications of bleaching
at all stations from reefs at the Dade/Broward county border
all the way south to the northern tip of Biscayne National Park.
An average of 26% of hard corals surveyed showed some indication
of bleaching (average 10% of organism bleached). The species
showing the most bleaching were Porites asteroides and
Siderastrea species."
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Alan E. Strong
NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Project
NOAA/NESDIS
3 October 2001